Goof
by Gabrielle Day
Summary: Grace tries to eat an orange and have an introspective moment, but only partially succeeds. Tag to 1.15 Tidal Wave.


**Goof **

**Gabrielle Day **

A/N: I wrote this ages ago, after the epidsode Kai e'e (Tidal Wave). This is a tag, of sorts. I don't own any of the characters. Enjoy!

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><p>A week after the tsunami scare, Grace sat under the biggest tree on the playground and watched the other kids run around. Normally she would have been with them, all of her eight year old energy instinctively and frantically trying to work itself out in the half hour period. But some days, she liked the tree, liked the shade and sanctuary it provided.<p>

She dug her thumbnail into the rind of her orange and began to peel it. Her peace didn't last long as another small body plopped down next to her sharing and taking up some of her space against the tree trunk.

"Heya, Gracie." Tommy greeted.

She frowned at him. His dark curls were damp from sweat and he looked pleased as he grinned at her.

"Don't call me Gracie. You won the kickball game." she said.

He nodded, hazel eyes lighting up. "My trick shot did it. Works every time." he said with pride. He eyed her and reached over to swipe a piece of orange. Grace easily swatted his hand away. He shrugged and settled back against the tree trunk.

"Why didn't you play?" he asked.

"Didn't feel like it." Grace said, squinting to see where the ball went after one of their classmates kicked it too far.

"Your parents fight again?" Tommy asked. He picked a blade of grass and put it between his teeth.

Grace sighed and rolled her eyes. "They're always fighting."

"I mean your mom and King Stan." Tommy clarified.

While Grace was busy being surprised, he leaned over and stole the orange slice he'd been denied earlier.

"How do you know that?" she demanded.

Tommy shrugged again. "You get like this," he said, waving at her, "when its them. It's different when it's your mom and real dad."

Grace scrunched up her nose. "Oh."

They sat in silence, Grace picking at her orange and Tommy chewing on his blade of grass. Tommy made quiet comments on the new round of kickball, running from encouragement to criticism depending on who was up.

"Sometimes I worry about what would happen if my mom and Step Stan got a divorce." Grace said finally.

"They wouldn't be married anymore." Tommy replied.

Grace glared at him. He grinned.

"You wouldn't be able to trick your driver into going places anymore." he offered.

Grace found a smile, which lasted briefly before fading. "But then I'd have to split time between Step Stan and Danno. What if we move again?"

Tommy frowned. Grace never seemed this upset about it when her parents argued, but this was different and he was afraid she might start crying. Tommy knew from past experience that when girls cried he was bound to get into trouble for it, whether he'd done anything or not. His grandfather, after who he was named, told him often that this was the male lot in life. Men got fast cars, pockets in their jackets, and the good blessing to piss standing up, but the trade off was dealing with crying women. His mother didn't allow him to repeat the phrase out loud, but Tommy held onto it for future reference. Plus, the idea of Grace crying made him queasy.

"It doesn't work like that, I don't think. Your Danno gets dibs, 'cause he was your dad first. Not that King Stan wouldn't want to see you." He added hastily. "And it wouldn't matter if you moved again. Your dad would go anywhere to see you, you know that. You've got a great dad, Gracie."

Just for that, Grace let him steal another part of her orange.

"And grown ups argue all the time. It doesn't mean they'll split."

"Yeah." Grace allowed. "That's true."

"Besides, didn't you say your Dad's seal friend wouldn't let anything like that happen?"

"Navy Seal." Grace automatically corrected. She knew that every time Tommy referred to 'your Dad's seal' that he was picturing an actual seal. "And yeah. I overheard him talking to Grandma on the phone one night. Steve's cool."

"Steve is a mountain." Tommy said.

Grace grinned. "True."

Recess was winding down, and the last turns of the kickball game were coming up. Grace looked over at Tommy, who had managed to sneak another slice of orange away from her.

"Hey, Tommy?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you really kill a tiger shark with your boogie board?"

"Half a boogie board. He got part of it the first time I hit him in the nose."

Grace stared at him intently, waiting for the break in his serious expression. Danno told her that waiting people out was a good way to get the truth from them. She had asked Danno who the most honest person he knew was, and after waiting him out for a bit he had told her it was Steve. Glancing at her friend now, Tommy's expression didn't change, but Grace thought she saw the mischievous spark in his gaze.

"Hmph. Danno says your a goof." she said.

The last kickball play was made, and the teacher blew the end of recess whistle. Tommy looked at her, eyes serious.

"Well, that's okay. As long as you like it."

Surprised, she hesitated. Tommy waited.

"Yeah. I like it." Grace murmured.

Tommy grinned. He tugged her pigtail gently, grabbed an orange slice, and ran off towards the line to go inside. Slowly, Grace stood and brushed her uniform off, picking up her backpack and shouldering it. It wasn't until she reached down to pick up her napkin that she realized that Tommy had gotten away with eating the whole orange.


End file.
